What Clinical Mental Health Screeners Actually Measure — and What to Do With Your Score

Most people who take a mental health screener read the number and have no idea what it means. That gap between completing a test and understanding the result is where a lot of useful information gets lost.

The three tools used most widely in clinical settings — the PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, and WHO-5 for overall wellbeing — are public domain tools developed through decades of research. Here is what each one actually measures and what to do with what you find.

The PHQ-9 maps directly onto the nine diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder. A score of 10 or above indicates moderate depression. A score of 15 or above is moderately severe. The tool does not diagnose — but it gives you clinical language for what you are experiencing, and it is the same tool your GP or IMH would use at a first appointment. If your score is above 10, that is worth taking seriously.

The GAD-7 measures anxiety severity across seven domains: restlessness, difficulty controlling worry, irritability, fear, concentration problems, fatigue, and muscle tension. Scores above 10 indicate moderate-to-severe anxiety. One thing most people do not know: the GAD-7 also has strong sensitivity for panic disorder, social anxiety, and PTSD — not just generalised anxiety. If you score high here, it does not just mean you worry too much.

The WHO-5 is different from the other two. Instead of measuring symptoms, it measures positive wellbeing: mood, calmness, energy, sleep quality, and daily interest. A score below 50 out of 100 has 83% sensitivity for major depression — which means it catches most cases even though it never asks about depression directly. If your WHO-5 is low, something is off even if you cannot name it.

None of these tools replace a clinical conversation. What they do is give you language, a reference point, and a starting position for that conversation. Many people arrive at a first therapy session unable to describe what is wrong. A score from a validated screener gives both you and the therapist a clinical anchor.

Take the free Clarity Check to get all three scores at once with a personalised report. Or take the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and WHO-5 individually. If your scores land somewhere uncomfortable, that is the tool working. The next step is a conversation.